The Living Experience of Divorced Women with Unexpected Divorces: A Qualitative Study

The aim of this study was to explain the lived experience of divorced women with unexpected divorces.

The present study, with a qualitative approach based on contextual theory and semi-structured and problem-oriented interview techniques, has investigated and identified the process of occurrence of unexpected divorces. The statistical population of this study was women with unexpected and unilateral divorce living in Tehran. Seven women who experienced unexpected divorce were selected by purposive sampling method. These individuals were examined in depth using semi-structured interviews; The foundation data approach was used to explain and analyze the data.

After analyzing the data, the interview with divorced women and its analysis led to the identification of 162 primary codes, 11 sub-themes and 4 main themes. The main theme of marriage is a lifelong commitment. Two sub-themes include believing in the continuity and stability of marriage and believing in having a good life but facing the worst. The second main theme, relationship changes from best friend to complete stranger, also included five sub-themes of sudden and unexpected ending, duality of messages and psychological games, breaking of hypotheses, betrayal and the role of the main family, and divorce in participants' divorces. Participants' emotional processes to unexpected divorce as their third main theme had two sub-themes of emotional reactions to leaving and the harms of unexpected divorce, and the fourth and last main theme was reconstruction of life and coping with divorce, which were two sub-themes of efficient methods of coping with divorce. Inefficient methods of coping with divorce were included.

The experience of divorce in women means being under the umbrella of individual and social vulnerabilities and the occurrence of various consequences that lead them to take advantage of protection mechanisms such as religion, secrecy and trying to adapt.